Posted June 29, 2020 Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany: As of today, Monday, June 29, 09:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 28 active cases, while 257 people have recovered. All in all there have been 296 people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 9.0. Currently 4 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 72 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 13 438 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Sunday, 28 June. Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php Share this post Link to post
Posted June 29, 2020 7 hours ago, Ruby Eyes said: Considering how stressed I am at each flight, those temperature checks would result in a false positive with me 2 days ago I was grocery shopping, and the guy in front of me had his mask down. The cashier told him to put it back on because it's the rule, and he started discussing and ranting and going on about how he knew much more than her about corona and probably much more than anyone else because he has read *everything* about it and learned it all, which included how useless those masks were, really, and we all would see that he was right in the upcoming winter blablabla ... When it was my turn to pay and leave, I wished her an expert-free weekend. She laughed They thought it was going to go away in the summer, too. 🤦♀️ Share this post Link to post
Posted June 29, 2020 This is about to get so much worse. Evictions are set to skyrocket starting July 1st in America. Where are people going to go? Many still aren't working. The homeless population is going to exponentially increase from this, and cities aren't equipped to handle it. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 15 hours ago, Ruby Eyes said: Considering how stressed I am at each flight, those temperature checks would result in a false positive with me 2 days ago I was grocery shopping, and the guy in front of me had his mask down. The cashier told him to put it back on because it's the rule, and he started discussing and ranting and going on about how he knew much more than her about corona and probably much more than anyone else because he has read *everything* about it and learned it all, which included how useless those masks were, really, and we all would see that he was right in the upcoming winter blablabla ... When it was my turn to pay and leave, I wished her an expert-free weekend. She laughed This reminds me I had an awkward situation at work the other day. The store I work at recommends masks, but doesn't require them for customers. As I was helping a maskless gentleman at work, another customer was giving him strange looks and I didn't really understand until the latter finally came up in line. Once he came up he started complaining about the guy's lack of a mask and how HE was the one getting glared at, "he was glaring at me, so I glared right back". I didn't argue much, but half heartedly mentioned we didn't require it at the store and parroted that some consider doing so illegal (I don't actually believe that, but didn't think before opening my mouth), which didn't do much in the conversation. It was one of those uncomfortable situations because I think part of it was in his head as the other guy seemed more confused and weirded out than anything. Personally, unless a situation calls for it I avoid bringing up when customers don't have a mask on unless they make a comment like, "Oh, sorry for forgetting it!" Mainly because I don't want to hear the spiels of people like the guy you encountered at the grocery store. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 3 hours ago, Ruby Eyes said: Well, it is a requirement in German stores. Yeah, that's a good thing. That fact pretty much hammers in more that the guy was being a jerk. From what I've heard some mayors in the US are starting to mandate them with all the recent spiking. If it gets bad in my location too, that may end up being law here too. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 4 hours ago, Ruby Eyes said: Well, it is a requirement in German stores. And Bahamian. I wonder whether our foreign visitors will follow the rules. I do hope the governement puts big signs up in the airport to tell them that a) it's the law and b) they can be fined and/or imprisoned if they don't. I still think we're insane to be allowing Americans in at all right now. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) In Germany, the various states discuss more loosening of the Covid-19 restrictions. I totally don't think this is such a good idea, particularly as people are getting more and more careless here, too. Looks like the numbers are slowly going down once more in my place: ---------------------------- Daily update for Oberhausen, NRW, Germany: As of today, Tuesday, June 30, 09:00 GMT+2, my home town (population 211 000) has 22 active cases, while 263 people have recovered. All in all there have been 296 people who suffered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of newly infected people per 100 000 citizens in the last 7 days is 9.0. Currently 4 persons are treated in hospitals, none of them in intensive care. 11 persons sadly died. 63 persons are currently quarantined. All in all there have been 13 669 Covid-19 tests in Oberhausen up to Monday, June 29. Source: https://www.oberhausen.de/de/index/rathaus/verwaltung/umwelt-gesundheit-und-mobilitat/gesundheit/aktuelle_informationen/informationen_zum_coronavirus/aktuelle_meldungen.php Edited June 30, 2020 by Astreya Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Lagie said: I still think we're insane to be allowing Americans in at all right now. the EU isn't letting Americans in. (or Russians, or Brazilians) https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/30/21308023/eu-ban-american-travelers-tourists-coronavirus-pandemic-response Edited June 30, 2020 by trystan Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) Interesting - my parents just had their regular check-up with their cardiologist today - and when they got into the office, a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test (the swab thing) was done as an extra for all visitors there no matter whether they had any Covid-19 symptoms or not. They asked the cardiologist how many positive Covid-19 tests they had encountered so far, but it seems so far each test they did came up negative. My parents will get to know their results in two days. Edited June 30, 2020 by Astreya Did I mention typos? Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 3 hours ago, trystan said: the EU isn't letting Americans in. (or Russians, or Brazilians) https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/30/21308023/eu-ban-american-travelers-tourists-coronavirus-pandemic-response I'm surprised Trump hasn't twittered about it yet. Or decided to increase import taxes or something. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 6 minutes ago, olympe said: I'm surprised Trump hasn't twittered about it yet i am too. trump is a twitter. or... another word i probably shouldn't say here Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 He has something twittering in his head, more likely. (Sorry, German language pun.) Which is probably why he's so fond of twitter in the first place. *grumbles* Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 Well Trump is even worse than anyone thought, I guess - though if I were the companies involved, I wouldn't co-operate. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/30/us-buys-up-world-stock-of-key-covid-19-drug The forum censors what I am thinking just now.... Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 @Fuzzbucket That was to be expected, didn't you think? I mean, he already tried to buy Curevac in the beginning of the pandemic when they were one of the most promising companies to develop a vaccine and was only stopped as Dietmar Hopp (main owner of the company stocks) said "thanks, but no thanks" to the attempt. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 Please note the cost of the treatments in that article: $3,200 per patient. Also note that Trump is once again trying to get rid of the ACA, with nothing to replace it, during a pandemic, despite the fact that the administration had two years with control of Congress and the executive branch to get it done. The forum censors what I've been thinking for years. Chinese scientists have also discovered a mutated swine flu with strains of covid-19 that has the potential for human transmission. It's basically the 2010 swine flu with covid-19 mixed in, with additional mutative properties. I don't think it's transmitted to humans yet, but to have a pandemic candidate while we're already in the midst of a deadly pandemic... is something I don't want to think about. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) By the way, out of curiosity I looked for some studies about how much use remdesivir is really. I found two main publications: A Chinese study that gave no advantage of remdesivir vs placebo (although it was published in the Lancet, I wonder about how much of this study's results are in fact due to political reasons): https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31022-9/fulltext A second, more recent study with more patients: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2007764 The verdict of this was somewhat positive, but not overwhelming: Quote "These preliminary findings support the use of remdesivir for patients who are hospitalized with Covid-19 and require supplemental oxygen therapy. However, given high mortality despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not likely to be sufficient. Future strategies should evaluate antiviral agents in combination with other therapeutic approaches or combinations of antiviral agents to continue to improve patient outcomes in Covid-19." As things look, dexamethasone would be a much more inexpensive and useful medication https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01824-5 Quote Coronavirus breakthrough: dexamethasone is first drug shown to save lives In a large trial, a cheap and widely available steroid cut deaths by one-third among patients critically ill with COVID-19. Edited June 30, 2020 by Astreya The usual typos Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 1 hour ago, Fuzzbucket said: Well Trump is even worse than anyone thought, I guess - though if I were the companies involved, I wouldn't co-operate. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/30/us-buys-up-world-stock-of-key-covid-19-drug The forum censors what I am thinking just now.... Okay, that's just so Trump. I have no words. On the other hand - buying up something that doesn't do much good and having it hailed as a great achievement is also a lot like Trump. *shrugs* Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 59 minutes ago, purpledragonclaw said: Please note the cost of the treatments in that article: $3,200 per patient. Also note that Trump is once again trying to get rid of the ACA, with nothing to replace it, during a pandemic, despite the fact that the administration had two years with control of Congress and the executive branch to get it done. The forum censors what I've been thinking for years. Chinese scientists have also discovered a mutated swine flu with strains of covid-19 that has the potential for human transmission. It's basically the 2010 swine flu with covid-19 mixed in, with additional mutative properties. I don't think it's transmitted to humans yet, but to have a pandemic candidate while we're already in the midst of a deadly pandemic... is something I don't want to think about. Oh yeah to the cost; and yes, dexamethasone. IT's just the Trumpishness of it all. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, Fuzzbucket said: Oh yeah to the cost; and yes, dexamethasone. IT's just the Trumpishness of it all. You could say it's hydroxychloroquine all over again. Just worse. Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) By the way, the Wikipedia entry about Gilead Sciences has the following: Quote In June 2020, Gilead announced that the price of remdesivir is set at US$390 per vial for governments of developed countries including the United States and US$520 for private insurance companies in the US. The expected course of treatment is six vials over five days for a total cost of US$2,340. On June 29, 2020 it was announced that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had agreed to buy 500,000 remdesivir treatment courses. Gilead was quoted in the announcement, in a section mentioning that each five-day course of remdesivir -- (for treatment of a patient with coronavirus) -- would cost at least USD $2,340.00. HHS Secretary Alex Azar was quoted, having said (in a press release) that "To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it". So Mr.Trump spent about 1.17 billion (short scale) USD on a drug with limited use for Covid-19 (the US government pay 2340 USD per treatment course, while it is US private insurances that have to pay 3120 USD), when there is a medication (dexamethasone) that has a much higher effictiveness for a median price of $0.33 per 4mg/ml injection ampoules (range: US$0.13-$3.5). That's obviously the Art of the Deal... Edited June 30, 2020 by Astreya Share this post Link to post
Posted June 30, 2020 19 minutes ago, Astreya said: By the way, the Wikipedia entry about Gilead Sciences has the following: So Mr.Trump spent about 1.17 billion (short scale) USD on a drug with limited use for Covid-19 (the US government pay 2340 USD per treatment course, while it is US private insurances that have to pay 3120 USD), when there is a medication (dexamethasone) that has a much higher effictiveness for a median price of $0.33 per 4mg/ml injection ampoules (range: US$0.13-$3.5). That's obviously the Art of the Deal... Well, if he buys one for 2340 and sells it for 3120, he makes a lot of money from half a million treatment courses. 780 + 500,000 = 390,000,000. Then go on advertising it as the one true treatment (made in the USA, only for US citizens), forget to mention there's a cheaper and more effective alternative, and you'll sell them all. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 1, 2020 2 hours ago, olympe said: Gilead Sciences i'm not sure i trust anywhere called Gilead.... not after reading and watching the Handmaid's Tale & the Testaments! Share this post Link to post
Posted July 1, 2020 None of us americans should be traveling right now. I don't understand why people would want to unless they are trying to get away form the sickness. >.<' However it's literally everywhere so I don't see that happening. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 1, 2020 1 hour ago, TerraAnne said: I don't understand why people would want to cabin fever. also humans are, in fact, social animals. (at least, as a whole species.) so we absolutely gotta be with our people, go out and do things. it's a very American thing to say 'i've had enough of this virus, and since i'm done with it, it's over and done too." of course, that's not how this works..... also, the majority of Americans are kinda stubborn too.... Share this post Link to post
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